For many, traveling is all about catching up with family members who live far away. Senior Pratyush Sontha is no exception; his family just happens to live halfway around the world.

“My parents get homesick and I do a little bit too, so it’s nice to get away from America and get back to our roots,” Pratyush said.

Pratyush was born in Kurnool, a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His family moved to the United States when he was young and since then, he has traveled back to Kurnool six times.

“I think our family enjoys them and it’s nice to see people and hear about everything that has happened while we were away,” Pranna Sontha, Pratyush’s mother, said.

When his family returns to India, Pratyush enjoys spending time with his cousins and playing cricket. He says the disparities between cultures and attitudes between India and the U.S. are large but interesting.

“Whenever I compare the metropolitan lifestyle people in America go through and have, it’s really crazy,” Pratyush said. “It’s completely different from everything in India. It’s similar, but it’s more relaxed in a way. Life can be completely different around the world.”

Pratyush’s friends notice the importance of his many trips back to Kurnool.

“Pratyush always seems to have fun,” friend Mensur Koso said. “It’s good to get the cross-cultural exposure. It helps to have broader views and to see how other people understand things the way other people you might not meet understand them.”

Overall, Pratyush appreciates being able to travel back to India and feels that the experiences he has had abroad are an invaluable part of shaping his personality.

“Being ignorant to everything that exists within the entire world is definitely a bad thing,” Pratyush said. “Being aware, and having been around the world, it definitely influences my decisions and I think about things differently everyday.”